Amends
by Master Mateo
Summary: Seifer is caught by Galbadia and returned to Balamb to make amends.


Disclaimer: I don't own Squaresoft or Final Fantasy 8... yet. If I get enough   
  
positive reviews I'll continue the story.  
  
It was a beautiful day near the city of Balamb, the sun was shining and the   
  
water was cool and clear, but one man was not enjoying this scenery at all. This   
  
man wasn't well known to the people of Balamb but those that lived in nearby   
  
Balamb Garden knew him all too well. This young man was of course Seifer Almasy,   
  
the SeeD cadet turned knight turned rebel that had released the Sorceress Adel   
  
and caused indescribable pain to many that had been close to him.  
  
This man... this proud warrior... after evading SeeD had ran to Deling   
  
City along with his dearest friends Fuujin and Raijin. He had been out going for   
  
a walk when a few soldiers had happened to recognize him and attacked him   
  
immediately, he had foolishly left his gunblade Hyperion behind and he had paid   
  
for it dearly. The soldiers had taken him down with relative ease... or so they   
  
had claimed. It had taken five of them to take him down, one had a broken arm,   
  
another had a broken nose, and all of them had their fair share of bruises. He   
  
had been handcuffed and brought to General Caraway who, with an extremely   
  
satisfied grin, sent him back to Balamb Garden saying that it was "Garden's   
  
business."  
  
Garden business my ass, he thought to himself, the bastard just wants to give me   
  
to them so they can get the honor of killing me. He still hadn't recovered from   
  
the little run-in with the guards; he had several bruises but was no worse for   
  
wear. Getting off the train then with his escort of two Galbadian soldiers he   
  
would be lead to an "official car" that had been sent by Garden to pick him up.   
  
He would try and fight the two guards as they forced him in to the car but he   
  
would be forced in to the back seat while one guard sat next to him and the   
  
other went in to the driver's seat. Soon the car would lurch in to motion and he   
  
was once again on his way to Balamb Garden, only this time he wasn't a young man   
  
full of hopes... he was a broken man preparing for his death.  
  
Cid Kramer considered himself an intelligent man... but he was also   
  
somewhat of a gambler in his younger days. That will to gamble is what was   
  
allowing him to go through with the plan that had been formulating in his mind   
  
when General Caraway had contacted him and told him of Seifer's capture. The old   
  
man had been happy then, finally he would get a chance to speak to Seifer and   
  
maybe help the young man change, he firmly believed that Seifer had been   
  
manipulated from the start and that young man simply needed a second chance. He   
  
had called a meeting that afternoon calling in his most trusted young SeeDs, he   
  
would sit at his desk with a grave expression as Squall, Zell, and Quistis made   
  
their way in to his room, stood in front of his desk and gave their salute. He   
  
would have liked Selphie and Irvine to be there but they both had insisted on   
  
going to Trabia to rebuild, meaning these four were all he had to keep an eye on   
  
Seifer.  
  
"I'm glad your all here," Cid said as he stood up and started to pace in front   
  
of them with his arms behind his back, "I have something important to tell all   
  
of you..." He would continue pacing as he tried to build up the courage to tell   
  
them, he would give a soft sigh, best to just tell them, he thought. "Seifer   
  
Almasy is returning to Garden..." he immediately held up his hand stifling   
  
Zell's loud protest, Squall and Quistis had not been as verbal with Squall's   
  
eyes narrowing and Quistis's widening. "I know you are all troubled by this...   
  
but I think that we can get him to change his ways..." Squall would only snort   
  
in derision and Zell would speak then.  
  
"Headmaster! You can't be serious in letting that psycho back here!" Zell   
  
exclaimed, one couldn't really blame him, after all he had been tormented by   
  
Seifer relentlessly.  
  
"I agree..." Squall said in all seriousness, "he's a danger to Garden and all of   
  
us..." that and he was worried about how he was going to tell this to Rinoa.  
  
"They're both right Headmaster..." Quistis chimed in with her calm voice,   
  
"there's no way he could change." The Headmaster would just nod then.  
  
"I understand your concerns but this is my decision to make... if it makes you   
  
feel better I want you all to be keeping an eye on him... if he tries anything   
  
then I'll send him back to Galbadia and let them worry about him." That seemed   
  
to mollify them to some extent when he said that. "He'll be here soon, until   
  
then I want you all to wait here with me while discuss what I have planned for   
  
reforming him..."  
  
Seifer felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as the gates of Balamb   
  
Garden loomed in to view and he grit his teeth, he really was going back and he   
  
had no way to avoid it. This couldn't be happening... he had evaded death   
  
twice... led an army... and here he was captured like a common criminal and   
  
walking right in to a death sentence, there was no way they would let him live   
  
after all he did. Stopping in the parking lot the guards would step out and try   
  
to drag him out and once again he fought them tooth and nail, there was no way   
  
he was going to die like this. But the guards would just grin and soon Seifer   
  
was on the ground with another bruise to his cheek, which seemed to knock the   
  
fight out of him as he was led towards the office of the Headmaster with his   
  
eyes downcast.  
  
Many of the young students saw him and those that recognized him started   
  
to spread the word all around campus, Seifer Almasy was back.  
  
"Great," he muttered to himself, now everyone was going to know that he was back   
  
on campus. As they rode the elevator to the top he gathered himself up to save   
  
what dignity he could as they reached the top floor and outside of that office   
  
was his old friend Quistis, at seeing his old instructor he felt a pang in his   
  
heart, after all, she had been the one among them that he had disliked the   
  
least. When he saw her he would get a huge arrogant smirk on his face, his voice   
  
was oozing with sarmcasm "Instructor! I'm so glad to see you... how long has it   
  
been? A year? Two years?"  
  
"Not long enough Seifer," Quistis said in a cold voice that really didn't seem   
  
to suit her in his opinion, "and I'm not an Instructor anymore... so stop   
  
calling me that..." The smirk and the sarcasm... usual Seifer she thought.  
  
"Oh of course Instructor... I'm so sorry Instructor... I won't call you   
  
Instructor anymore..." he was getting some satisfaction out of this, if he was   
  
going to die then he was going to insult them as much as he could before that   
  
happened. Quistis would roll her eyes and she would grab him by the collar and   
  
drag him in to the office, he would have cursed her loudly and struggled but he   
  
was still feeling weak. When he was in the office he shot an icy glare at   
  
Squall, Zell, and at Headmaster Cid. The Headmaster would look at him with a   
  
grave expression.  
  
"Ah... Seifer... it is nice to see that you are back... though I wish it oculd   
  
have been under better circumstances..." he wasn't vindictive and seeing one of   
  
the most promising students he had ever seen in handcuffs and bruised was not   
  
something he was glad to see. When he said that Seifer would just chuckle and   
  
when he spoke his voice was icy and filled with hatred.  
  
"Your right Headmaster... I agree... maybe next time you'll be the one in the   
  
handcuffs and I'll be the one deciding your fate..." he would look down at the   
  
ground before once again meeting Cid's eyes with defiance, "and cut this   
  
politeness garbage... I know your going to kill me... probably by torture..." he   
  
smirked at Squall then "just like I tortured Leonhart over there..." he felt   
  
some satisfaction when Squall took a menacing step forward and Cid placed a hand   
  
up making Squall stop in his tracks, Seifer turned and look at Cid once again,   
  
"so just get it over with already..." At that Cid would laugh out loud at what   
  
Seifer had said.  
  
"No Seifer... we're not going to execute you... we're not barbarians," Cid said   
  
in a smooth tone, "no we've got something worse in mind." He would clear his   
  
throat then, "for the damage you have caused to Garden you are going to make   
  
amends... to start... your going to be doing community service here at Garden...   
  
and quite a bit of it I might add." He inwardly grinned at Seifer's wide eyed   
  
expression, he knew that the young man would rather die than have to do   
  
community service.  
  
"You've got to be kidding!" Seifer exclaimed, he didn't notice the satisfied   
  
smirks of the others in the room, "I'd rather take the torture!" He almost ran   
  
at Cid then but Squall took another step forward and stopped in front of the   
  
Headmaster ruining any chances of that happening.  
  
"Yes... I know that... and that's why your going to be doing it... your death   
  
won't change anything but at least now you can do something positive with your   
  
life... and until I decide otherwise your sentence is indefinite... so get   
  
comfortable..." Cid would just stand there waiting patiently while Seifer   
  
yammered out several half completed insults, the young man was so angry he   
  
wasn't sure which insult to use, so it just all came out at once. "Quistis...   
  
show Seifer to his room... and make sure to lock the doors... I don't want   
  
anyone attacking him in the night..." Quistis didn't like being the one that   
  
would have to take Seifer there but orders were orders, saluting she would grab   
  
the still yammering Seifer by the handcuffs and once again forcefully drag him   
  
out to the elevator. He would stand there with a dour expression on his face and   
  
remained silent as he walked with Quistis to the dorms ignoring the continued   
  
wide-eyed stares.  
  
"This will be your room Seifer," Quistis said as she opened the door, it wasn't   
  
anything special, just a bed with blankets and drawers for his clothing. A room   
  
for a servant he mused to himself, he heard a clang then and turned around as   
  
his handcuffs fell to the floor. He immediately started rubbing his wrists then   
  
and looked at Quistis with a puzzled expression, she would cut him off before he   
  
said anything, "I just took them off of you Seifer," and she had hesitated   
  
greatly doing it.  
  
"I can see that..." he said dryly, "what's your angle Quistis?" He figured he   
  
owed her after she took the cuffs off of him, "what's to stop me from running   
  
away right now?" Quistis would just smirk at him.  
  
"There is no angle... I just took them off of you so you could sleep...   
  
besides... even if you do run away all of Garden would be after you... you've   
  
nowhere to go... no one would help you... your stuck." He just grumbled then and   
  
walked in the room and Quistis chuckled, "that and your room can only be opened   
  
by the outside..." The door closed then and he heard it click telling him that   
  
he was stuck in there until his captors decided to let him out. He sighed then   
  
and moved to the bed, he would insult her later, right now sleep seemed very   
  
inviting so he took off his shoes, trenchcoat, and shirt and lay down on the bed   
  
falling asleep before his head had even hit the pillow.  
  
Quistis would return to the office then where Zell and Squall were both   
  
in a heated debate about what to do with Seifer, when she had entered they had   
  
looked at her and fallen silent but soon they would continue the conversation   
  
they had been having with Zell being the first one to speak.  
  
"But Headmaster... what makes you so sure that he'll change?" Sell asked   
  
completely baffled at the way the day had turned out. Cid would answer him   
  
without flinching.  
  
"Because Seifer was being controlled by something and he didn't even realize   
  
it... the least we could do is give him a second chance... we're the closest   
  
thing he had to a family and we turned him away when we may have been able to   
  
help him," Cid couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the way Seifer   
  
had turned out, he always felt that there was something he could have done that   
  
would have made things turn out for the better.  
  
"Seifer is as stubborn as a starving T-Rexaur," Squall said and he did know   
  
about T-Rexaurs, he had several bad experiences with them in his life. That and   
  
he knew what made Seifer tick, the two of them were rivals and they both always   
  
seemed to understand the other. As much as he hated to admit it Squall couldn't   
  
help but understand how Seifer felt, Seifer was a man of pride and to be   
  
degraded was a fate worse than death. Cid nodded again. "I know this Squall...   
  
but even T-Rexaurs give up eventually and I think that deep down... Seifer wants   
  
to come back but is just too proud to admit to it," Cid said with resolution,   
  
Squall was about to speak when Quistis interrupted him.  
  
"I agree with the Headmaster..." Quistis said firmly as they all turned and   
  
stared at her in confusion, "I could see the look on Seifer's face as we walked,   
  
he wants to be here, it's in his eyes." She knew what longing was like; she had   
  
felt it for Squall for a long time, she still felt a pain in her heart when she   
  
saw Squall with him. Squall would look at Quistis and the Headmaster for a   
  
moment before speaking again.  
  
"If Quistis and the Headmaster think it will be fine then I'll agree to it...   
  
for now anyway..." Squall said finally, he of course would be keeping an eye on   
  
Seifer and the second he saw a problem he would take care of it. Zell would   
  
stare at all of them before rubbing the back of his head with a frown.  
  
"You turn on me to Squall? Alright fine... it's alright with me... but I'll kick   
  
his ass if he tries anything..." that was the closest thing they would get to an   
  
alright from Zell and they knew it. Cid would smile a bit and look at them all.  
  
"I'm glad you all see it my way... we'll start tomorrow..." 


End file.
